Television receiving system



June 23, 1942.

P. J. HERBST TELEVISION RECEIVING .SYSTEM Filed OCT'. 29., 1940 Patented June 23, 1942 TELEVISION RECEIVING SYSTEM Philip J. Herbst, Fort Wayne,

Ind., assignor to Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application October 29, 1940, Serial No. 363,338

2 Claims.

This invention relates to television receiving systems and more particularly to a television receiver adapted alternatively to reproduce pictures in color or in black and white. l

In the ordinary television receiver adapted for reproduction of pictures in black and white, the screen of the cathode-ray tube may be viewed by the observer either directly or by means of a mirror. For the reproduction of pictures in color, in accordance with certain systems, color-filtering means must be interposed between the cathoderay screen and the observer. 'I'his filtering means generally takes the form of colored segments inserted in an opaque disc which revolves about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cathode-ray tube. It is obvious that there is no position of such a disc which'permits the screen of the cathode-ray tube to be viewed directly by the observer. Conventional television receivers, therefore, are adaptable for the reception of colored pictures, in a system such as described, or of black and white pictures, but ordinarily are not suitable for receiving alternatively either type of pictures.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a. television receiver which is capable of reproducing alternatively colored pictures or black and white pictures.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a television receiver which may be quickly and easily adjusted for the reproduction of either colored or black and white pictures. I

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a television receiver Vcomprising; a signal-reproducing device having a picture-reproducing screen or.target. A disc having segments of different colors is arranged in front of the screen when the reproducing device is in a rst position. An adjustable reflecting surface is provided which is adapted to be positioned in front of the screen when the reproducing device is in a second position. Means are provided for causing the signal-reproducing device to assume the second position when the refiecting surface is adjusted to a position in front of the screen. In a preferred embodiment, switching means interlnked with the adjusting means are also provided for changing the operating connections of .the

reproducing device. Interlinked switching means may also be provided for controlling the rotation of the disc.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the disc revolves about a horizontal axis. and the axis of the reproducing device, which preferably is a cathode-ray tube, is horizontal when in its first position and vertical when in its second position. Thel reflecting surface is preferably mounted on the underside of the cover of the television receiver, and is adapted to be raised to an operating position approximately 45 above the horizontal. In s uch an arrangement, the observer views the screen of the tube through the colored segments of the disc during the reproduction of colored pictures, and Watches the direct reflection of the screen in the reflecting surface when black and White pictures are being reproduced.

For a better understanding of the invention, together with other and 'further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of a television receiver in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is here shown a television receiver including a cabinet I having a hinged cover 2. Housed within the cabinet I is a television receiving apparatus 3 provided with a color disc 4 and connected to a signal-reproducing device or cathode-ray tube 5 and a loud speaker 6. A reflecting surface l is attached to the underside of the cover 2,

and the front of the cabinet I is provided with a viewing window 8.

The cathode-ray tube 5 has a picture-reproducing screen 9 and is equipped with a defiectingcoil system I0. The cathode-ray tube 5 is supported by a mounting II, which in turn is arranged to pivot about a horizontal axis. The mounting II is connected by a linkage I2 to an arm I3 extending from the underside o f the cover 2.

As shown more yclearly in Figs. 2 and 3, there is provided a reversing switch Il, comprising segments I5 secured to and insulated from the mounting II and contacts I6 mounted upon nd insulated from a supporting bracket Il. Leads I8 from the deiiecting coil I0 are connected to the segments I5. The contacts I6 are connected to. the television receiving apparatus 3, as shown. When the cathode-ray tube 5'is in its vertical position, indicated by the solid lines, in Figs. 1 and 3, its picture-reproducing screen 1, mounted on the 9 is reected by means of the reiiecting surface underside or the cover 2, to the observers eye indicated at 20. When the cathode-ray tube 5 is in its horizontal position, indicated by the dotted lines in Figs. l and 3, its screen 9 may be observed through the window 8 and the disc 4. In addition a switch I9 may be provided, which is also actuated by rotation of the mounting means II and is connected to the television receiving apparatus 3, as shown.

The cathode-ray tube 5 is shifted from the vertical position to the horizontal position, by means of the linkage I2, when the cover 2 is lowered to the closed position. When this is done, the rotation of the mounting Il causes the switch I4 to reverse the polarity of the deflecting coils IU, thus automatically preventing the vertical reversal of the reproduced picture which would otherwise occur. The switch I9 is arranged to start the color disc 4 when the tube 5 is shifted to the horizontal position, and may also be utilized to make any other changes in the circuit arrangement of the television receiving apparatus 3 which may be necessary in the transition from black and white to color reproduction.

It will beunderstood that the two positions of the cathode-ray tube may be at suitable angles other than the 90 angle shown in the drawing, and that electrostatic deecting means may be employed instead of the electromagnetic deflecting means here shown. It will also be understood that any other suitable arrangements may be substituted for the linkage I2 and` for the switches I4 and I9, without departing from the scope of the invention.

While there has been described what is at present considered the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modicatlons as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A television receiver comprising a signalreproducing device having a picture-reproducing screen, a color iilter disposed in front of said screen when said reproducing device is in a first position, an adjustable reflecting surface normally positioned in a rst closed position and adjustable to a second open position opposite said screen when said reproducing device is in a second position, and means operably connecting said reproducing device and said reflecting surface for effecting simultaneous adjustments thereof to their rst and second positions. f

2. A television receiver comprising a signalreproducing device having a picture-reproducing screen, a pivotal mounting for said reproducing device, a color lter disposed in front of said screen when said reproducing device is in a rst position, a hinge-mounted reflecting surface normally positioned in a first closed position and adjustable to a second open position opposite said screen when said reproducing device is in a second position, and means operably connecting said reproducing device and said reflecting surface for effecting movement of said reproducing device about its pivotal mounting simultaneously with movement of said reflecting surface about its hinge mounting.

PHILIP J. HERBST. 

